Gina’s Montessori Nursery

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

The provision is good

Children thoroughly enjoy their time in this stimulating learning environment. They arrive happy and eager to learn. Key persons work very closely with parents to help children settle and feel secure.

Younger children develop close attachments to their key person and know when to seek support. Children behave well and form positive relationships with staff. They display good manners and are kind and respectful.

For example, they help with lunchtime routines and take pride in carrying out tasks for themselves. The quality of teaching is good. Children enjoy listening to stories, and older children use their phonic knowl...edge enthusiastically to sound out words.

Staff skilfully ask questions to inspire children's ideas. These practices help to support children's early literacy and communication skills well. However, at times, staff do not provide enough challenge to extend older children's mathematical development, such as making simple calculations.

Children have plenty of fun as they take part in physical play opportunities. For example, they enjoyed a music session where they explored the different sounds that musical instruments make. They eagerly danced and sang along to rhymes.

What does the early years setting do well and what does it need to do better?

The manager and staff set high expectations for each individual child and provide a well-designed curriculum. All children, including those who speak English as an additional language, make good progress in their learning from their different starting points. Staff regularly track children's progress to inform their curriculum planning.

However, at times, staff do not act upon their day-to-day observations when deciding what children need to learn next.Staff create a learning atmosphere where children have enormous fun, for example playing with foam and adding glitter to their Christmas stockings. Staff extend children's learning by asking them questions that make them think, make links to their prior learning and develop their language skills and creativity.

Staff provide good opportunities for children to develop their independence skills. For example, children display high levels of confidence as they move around freely to explore. They learn to lead their play and persevere well to complete tasks, such as making models with shapes.

Children have good opportunities to learn about the differences between themselves and others. They relate well to each other, develop good friendships and social skills. For example they share and take turns to use the resources.

Children adopt good hygiene routines and enjoy regular fresh air.Children use their imagination well. For example, they talked about sharks and fish in the pretend pond they made in the garden.

Older children are confident in their knowledge of the sounds that letters represent and can write their names correctly. However, staff do not consistently build on children's familiarity with shapes and counting by developing their mathematical and problem-solving skills, such as making simple calculations.The manager evaluates the provision well.

She considers the views of the local authority early years coordinator, staff, parents and children. This helps to raise the quality of the provision and children's overall learning experiences. The manager has addressed the recommendations made at the previous inspection.

For example, small-group times are now well prepared and thoughtful to ensure that all children can concentrate and be engaged for longer periods.Staff establish very good and effective partnerships with parents and other professionals to help meet children's individual needs and support their learning and care. Information about children's progress is regularly shared with parents.

Parents spoken to during the inspection described the staff as 'very caring', 'friendly' and 'positive'. They feel that staff have helped their children to make very good progress in their learning and development.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

All staff receive regular safeguarding and first-aid training. The manager and her staff team demonstrate a good understanding of safeguarding. They know about the signs that indicate a child may be at risk of harm and how to report a concern.

All staff are well qualified and are supported well by the manager to gain further qualifications. Rigorous risk assessments are carried out in the nursery and swift action is taken to minimise identified hazards.

What does the setting need to do to improve?

To further improve the quality of the early years provision, the provider should: nuse observations to plan more precisely for the next steps in children's learning provide more challenging activities to extend older children's mathematical and problem-solving skills.